The big rock in the lake is famous in Kazakhstan. From a travel magazine "Local legend tells of a bay (rich man) who lived a blessed life and had everything he could wish for. What he valued most of all, though, was his beloved daughter, the most beautiful girl on the steppe. Her reputation as a dashing horsewoman was well-known, and powerful men were queuing up to ask for her hand in marriage. However, the capricious beauty had chosen a poor akyn (poet-singer) with a golden voice. The young man possessed nothing more than an old shapan (traditional long coat) and a dombyra (stringed instrument). Knowing that the daughter of a bay could never wed a poor singer, the young couple eloped on horseback. They galloped for a long time wihtout stopping. Only when they reached Lake Burabay did the eloping couple halt - but too soon. The young girl's brothers were hot on their trail, and caught up with them at the lake. The quick-thinking akyn made a boat, jumped into it with his beloved and headed into a creek. But theirs was not to be a happy ending: and arrow sent by a vindictive hand hit its target, striking the young man in the heart. The dombyra can't play with a torn string, and an interrupted song doesn't ease the soul. The heart-broken girl prayed to the setting sun to turn her to stone, a monument to love, without which life makes no sense. Her wish was granted, and you can still see Zhumbaktas - "mysterious stone" - rising gracefully out of Lake Burabay."
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